Critical Point

“Stepping onto the sidewalk of the capital’s transport artery, Yegor came to a stunned halt, whistled, looking around and blinking.

On the avenue, usually packed and at this hour standing in one humming traffic jam, there was not a single car! Absolutely none! Unless, of course, you counted the dusty jalopies parked on the roadside who knew when.
— Whoa... — drew out Yegor, frozen like a post.
The events of this day and what he had just seen now began to form one incomprehensible and apocalyptic picture. Something had happened, something clearly man-made in nature, and thoughts of the possible consequences would not fit inside his head, galloping noisily in all directions in their стремлении to rip his skull apart. Yegor shook his head, trying to drive all the deserters back in and restore the self-possession that, under cover of the commotion, was quietly and almost crawlingly trying to leave him.”